The Shadow Within
by Kitten Snowmoon
Summary: Her master, also her adopted father, is slowly dieing. Aygul Sahar is on a mission to find a special flower to cure her master. Will this mission teach her to love? Will she put her trust in her new companions? This adventure will bring us closer to our heroine and how she learns on her own to become a great Thief. Rating may change to T :)
1. Chapter 1

Part One Chapter 1

"Come on, Aygul!" A small female Asura struggled against the much bigger one. "Please! She won't hurt you" said the bigger one as she pushed the small one near the marsh drake hatchling. Before Aygul could even get within touching range, she ducked and went up a tree. The other female Asura landed face first into the mud then with an irritated grunt she got off the ground and got at least some of the mud off. "Calm down, Rajja. She doesn't want to be ranger. Calm down" she repeated the mantra in her head as she gained her composure.

Rajja was turning circles till she spotted a pair of milky white eyes staring down at her. She smiled up as she took in the appearance of her little friend. Black skin with white stripes that came down her forehead. White short hair and small floppy ears. Rajja was still amazed that her friend is the smallest of the Asura race also the quickest because of her small stature. It is funny how she can fit in the smallest of places. While she on the other hand is average height of female Asura, albino skin with grey freckles peppering her nose and cheeks. Red eyes and hair up in two little buns, slightly long floppy ears.

She sighed then placed her hands on her hips then pointed at the ground to indicate to get down. Aygul sat on the thickest part of the branch, crossed her arms and legs and gave her the why-don't-you-make-me look. This, of course, was a bad idea as Rajja was preparing a fireball to throw at the branch just to scare her into getting down. Aygul was not and will not go near that overgrown lizard.

"One more chance, Aygul Sahar" she warned but before she could aim, she came into contact with the ground once again. Her tiny friend had her pinned to the ground, the fireball put out and arms behind her back. "Alright! Mercy, mercy!" Aygul got off and stepped back, watching her friend get up and dust herself off.

"Alright, you don't want to be ranger" she said then began to ponder the next class. Her ears perked, "how about warrior?"

Aygul came out of the dressing area, grimacing with every step as each part of the armor kept pinching at her skin. She stood before her elemental friend as Rajja circled her, inspecting her. "Hmm…." She lifted Aygul's arm then stopped as soon as she heard her whimper a little. "Okay, you don't like it" she followed her to the dressing room to help her out of the armor.

Trying for Guardian was not easy either as Rajja rushed over, "Aygul!" She reached her friend and tried to get the heavy shield off of her but to no avail. Sora, a guardian in training, was nearby and rushed over to help the distressed friends. He lifted the shield off with ease to reveal Aygul, poor girl looked out of breath.

"Are you alright, Aygul?" he asked softly as he helped her to her feet.

She stood on her own after she gained her balance and nodded her head slightly as she rubbed the drake egg sized lump on her cranium. "She's okay, just not Guardian material apparently" commented Rajja. Aygul gave a slight growl then plopped onto the dirt; legs and arms crossed, pouting. Rajja sighed then looked over to Sora "thanks for the help." He nodded then turned to leave but stopped instead.

"Hey, Aygul?" The pouting bunny looked up at the Guardian curious to the tone in his voice.

"I was wondering if you would like to umm…" he rubbed the back of his neck as a slight blush peppered his cheeks and nose. Sora cleared his throat then looked into that pearly gaze which nearly tipped him off but he mentally slapped himself. "I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the Winter Ball within next month."

Rajja's jaw slackened while Aygul only stood there stunned. Sora began to shift from side to side, "please say something" he pleaded. "I'm starting to feel like an imbecile." Aygul shook herself out of her stupor as she jumped at him, nodding her head quickly to his response. Sora chuckled as he gently placed her down on her feet so he could look at a smiling face.

"Alright, I'll see you soon Aygul." He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead. She blushed though no one could tell due to her dark skin.

Soon, both were in the Mesmer area. "Take up a staff and give it a go," Rajja encouraged. Aygul nodded and took up a staff. As she casts a spell, the staff bonked her on the head making her look a little cute with a weird look. Then that weird look turned into one of fright. It was a simple cloning spell that decided to backfire. Her own clones confused her as the enemy and chased after her. Before a single ball of magic could hit her, she was already up a tree and clinging to it for dear life. When the clones couldn't find her, they shattered into butterflies.

Rajja sighed as she looked up at the tree she was sitting under to see her tiny friend looking down at her with big frightened eyes. "How do you do that?" No response. She sighed, "forget mesmer. Let's try" a ball of fire appeared in her hand as she smiled, "elementalist." Now that got a whimper out of her.

Aygul dug her fingers slightly into the ground as they were in an Elemental area. "Keep your hands like that and focus on creating a slight tremble of the Earth," she instructed.

She took a deep breath as she focused carefully. Soon some of the Earth trembled and in an instant a large crevice opened under the unfortunate Aygul and she nearly fell in. If it wasn't for her quick reflexes, back flipping, she would have fallen in.

Rajja looked back to see her in a crouching position. "Okay, so Earth is not your calling." She ended up with a no-duh look as a response.

"Close your eyes and focus on the whispers that speak to you on the wind," she said. Rajja stood back and watched her friend.

Aygul closed her eyes and focused on the wind. Soon she felt herself lift off the ground then tilt in an odd direction. She opened her eyes to find herself looking at the world at an odd angle. Soon she felt the blood rush to her head and she panicked. Arms and legs flailing to get down while Rajja didn't even have air as her prime element. She couldn't get her little friend down.

An albino instructor, with abysmal eyes, saw the commotion and waved her hand to cut the wind causing the little Savant to land on her head with an audible thud.

The poor girl sat up as best she could and held her head. Rajja knelt down, concerned as she watched her friend gain her bearings before moving on to the next element. Aygul looked up at her with a look that said 'no more please.' Rajja sighed, "I'm sorry but you know you need to obtain a class before the end of today. Let's go and try water."

"Feel the water's energy that goes with its flow."

Aygul took a deep breath and focused on what she had in mind. Soon the small lake came to life as a slight strip of water flowing in midair then slashed back into the lake. Soon as she tried again, it turned into a whirlpool with ice imps coming right out of it and began to attack the caster.

"MEEP!" Was all that was heard as Aygul took off the opposite direction.

Rajja sighed as she turned and blasted lava balls at the flying icicles with wings and smiled as she heard them scream and die. She looked around to only find her tiny friend a nook of a tree. "Aygul, honey, come out, they're gone."

Slowly moving her ears, she cautiously crawled out while assessing her surroundings for the slightest bit of danger. Finally, she came out and sat on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest.

Rajja shook her head, "we are not even going to try fire" she muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Rajja was having a hard time trying to get Aygul near the Engineer area so she could try it. "Come on! It's not that hard," she growled as she continued pulling on her small friend that held onto the nearest poll for dear life. "I understand that you had a turret explode in your face and nearly killed you but you need to at least try one more time!"

Aygul knocked her hands away with a simple kick and climbed up the poll and jumped into the nearest tree. There was no way she was getting anywhere near things that have to do with engineering. She hated rifles due to the kickbacks and, AND! Turrets, mines, and everything else.

Rajja growled, annoyed at her tiny friend. "Fine!" She stood there, tapping her foot impatiently as she thought of another one. "Come down here now so we can have you try for Necromancer," she ordered and stormed off, not waiting to see if she followed.

Aygul was running away from risen wild boars. Rajja couldn't catch up to save her small friend, she was too fast. Aygul couldn't run forever, she looked over her shoulder to see them still chasing after her! Couldn't this day get any worse?

A couple of risen brutes began to dig through the ground as Aygul jumped over them to get away. No, no, no! This could NOT be happening! Just because she tried a simple spell, Grenth the bastard of dead and ice, had to teach her a lesson 'cause she was not Dark Priestess worthy. So he decided it would be funny to raise some undead boars and have them chase her. She hates the undead with a passion!

Aygul, without thinking, ran between the legs a human male and winced a bit when she distinctly heard crunching bones under boar hooves and possible undead feet. Just thinking about it gave her shivers.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard clanking, grunts and the dying whines coming from the boars. She turned around to see the human fully armored and wow… She mentally shook her head and looked at the human again.

She tilted her head to the side slightly as she watched him fight them off but from the looks of it, he couldn't tell that there were two behind him. Her eyes narrowed and she ran towards him. After she placed herself at his back, she snagged a dagger from his belt and began to fight them off. She didn't even notice it but it was like dancing only deadlier with a dagger.

Aygul stole a vial, with poison, and popped open the vial. She tackled one of the undead down and shoved the vial of poison down its throat. She jumped into the air, spun and landed on another, slitting its throat open. The undead brute collapsed to the ground with dying gurgles.

She got off the disgusting creature and looked around, her ears moving for any sound to pick up while she assessed her surroundings. Everything seemed to be clear so she brought her guard down slightly to look up at the human in front of her.

She backed up a little while he took off his helmet. As soon as she stopped and he held his helmet under his arm he flashed a charming smile her way. She gulped a bit. For a human, he is quite….handsome? That wasn't even the proper term but she wasn't going to dwell on that. A blush appeared covering her cheeks and over her nose as he walked over and knelt down to her level. "Thanks for the help, miss…?" He wanted to coax a name from her but she just couldn't speak. Her own name was stuck in her throat for Dwyna's sake!

The sound of someone's throat clearing broke through the slight embarrassing moment. Aygul looked around the human to see Rajja and several others looking right at her.

Rajja rushed over and hugged her small friend tightly, "oh Aygul! I thought you were dead!"

She growled a bit. Gee thanks for the vote of confidence…

She placed her down then spotted Aygul wielding a dagger, her eyes widening in shock. "No, that can't be your class. Anything but that…" she whispered in despair.

The human looked at the other female asura, "you have quite the little thief here." He smiled down at the smallest of them, "so how long have you been a thief?" Aygul looked up at him but didn't say anything; Rajja was the one to say something.

"Just now…" bitterness covered her tone as she let backed away from her. She turned her back on Aygul and began her way back to the college. He frowned, "is everything alright?" Rajja stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, "she is thief, a low and dishonorable class." She turned to look at the human in the eye, "so if you know what's good for you, you wouldn't socialize with such filth." With that said, she left and the group she arrived with left with her as well.

He was just stunned at their reaction towards the little asura behind him. He looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile, "don't worry about them" he said as he knelt back down before her. "I'm John Giavonei" he introduced himself as he offered his hand to take hers. Aygul looked at his hand then cautiously placed her small one in his large one. He gently shook her hand and gave her it a light squeeze, "don't let them get to you. I have met plenty of thieves on my travels, some evil and some good. It just depends on how you do your role." She nodded her head in understanding then her nose twitched to the aroma of something sweet.

Aygul closed her eyes and began moving forward toward him to sniff at his side, sniffing a small pouch. John looked at her and chuckled, "you like chocolate?" She nodded her head quickly then watched him pull out a piece and gave it to her. She squeaked happily and nibbled it like a rabbit till she finished it.

Aygul looked up at him and smiled, "thank you." Her voice was small, soft and just above a whisper. He smiled, "so you do speak." She nodded, "yes, I just don't like to talk too much. Also my name is Aygul Sahar." He smiled at her, "well Aygul, it is nice to meet you." She nodded, a small smile making its way across her blushing face. "I'm sorry I caused you such trouble earlier." John chuckled, "don't worry about it. We made a pretty good team though," he said. She agreed, "Well, it's time that I go…" _even though I just want to hide in a hole and not face everyone in Rata Sum College. _

John nodded, "alright. Take care, Aygul. Who knows, we might meet again sometime in the near future." She smiled only a little bigger and unexpectedly, she hugged him quickly without giving him a chance in hugging her back. She let go and ran off before she was tempted to stay any longer.

Soon as she arrived, she noticed that her college friends were no longer acting the same with her. They wouldn't talk to her or greet her, not even Rajja who's been her best friend since the start of college. Apparently, everyone found out that she is now a Thief. As history has put it, there have only been five thieves of her race and all of them have turned evil. She is the sixth thief and because of that history, she had been shunned but the people that she love and care for.

Ears slumped and shoulders folded, she went through her day with no one to talk to. The only one who didn't care what she is, is her advisor, Master Blipp.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aygul sat in Master Blipp's chamber where she did her studies. Her advisor was in a larger chamber where he played with his dark magic and such. Yes he was crazy, psychotic and a little insane but he understood her. He was the only one that could understand what she wants to say even though not a single word is heard. He treated her like a daughter and she loved him greatly. No one could replace her Master Blipp even if they tried, it would fail miserably.

Master Blipp let her stay with him as long as she wanted when he found out that her own family disowned her. Her mother hoped she would become an Elementalist like herself but her father wanted her to be a warrior like he used to be. Yes, used to be since he could no longer fight since the day he lost his left leg and right eye. She even had a young sibling on the way but she wouldn't be able to get to know them since her parents won't let her near the soon to be born baby brother or sister.

Aygul sighed then closed her book. _Why am I such a mess up? Why couldn't I be like my father or mother? _She couldn't help but be good at what she is now, a thief. Every night when her parents would be asleep, she would pull out her homemade daggers and practice her fighting skills in secret. She was a constant night owl; she had the agility, speed and reflexes of a thief. Even her senses were heightened since she came into her third year of college. She could see better in the dark, smell even the slightest of aromas and hear just the tiniest of sounds.

A knock sounded at the door. Chanting from the large chamber ceased as soon as the knock sounded again. Master Blipp came out, nodded at his student in acknowledgement and headed to the door. "Ah, thank you Tonn" he said. Then the arguments started as soon as Tonn made a bad comment about Aygul. Her ears slumped. "Listen here, bukka! She is my student and she can stay as long as she likes! If you got a problem with that, take it with The Council!" he hollered. "Oh wait! I AM part of the Coucil!" His voice darkened as he spoke the last sentence, "now, get out of my sight." Tonn scurried away as the door was slammed.

Aygul kept her back to him then relaxed slightly as she felt her advisor's hand on her shoulder and gave a light squeeze. "It is alright, daughter" the last word said with such endearment that it lightened her heart. "They will not do anything to you as long as I am around" he patted her back then did only the one thing she was only allowed to witness. He placed a fatherly kiss on her forehead and hugged her.

Three hours later, Master Blipp came out to see his beloved daughter asleep at her desk. He sighed as he watched her for a bit. Smallest of the race, icy colored hair, shadow skin with dusted claw markings that met her forehead, and the most unusual white eyes that had no pupils. _A very sweet girl indeed. Though she has two paths she must choose someday…_ He went over and gently picked her up, not surprised in the least of her weight. A thief needs to be very light to do the things they are born to do.

He went to the next chamber that was connected to his which he made into a sleeping chamber for her. He laid her in bed carefully so as not to wake her. He tucked her in then placed a cube like toy next to her. "Happy birthday, Aygul. May Dwyna smile down on you this day and the rest of your life" he mumbled softly then tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up.

Master Blipp sighed as he stood in the doorway then closed the door and went back to his spells. Before he went to his spell chamber, he looked over his shoulder to stare at the door where his daughter slept. Not many people understood her; the asuras only assumed the worst when it came to a class and a single being. He can see that she will be different but not the others, so this is the opportunity she needs to prove them all wrong. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aygul was outside the next morning, her small golem following behind her. She was out by the waterfall, pondering on how to get her outfit for the Winter Ball that is soon approaching. No one would hire a thief. She sighed and grabbed her golem to just look at. She always did this when she was in deep thought. _What am I going to do? _She really wanted to go to that Winter Ball; it is right around the corner.

She got up and started for the waterfall trail that led back to Rata Sum. Her ears perked as soon as she heard a twig snap under someone's foot. She climbed the nearest tree and sat on a branch that hid her from view. A group of students from the Dynamic corner of Rata Sum came into view. She spotted markings on their face. _Necromancers. _Two specialized in ghost conjuring. One good at raising the dead and the other, a psychotic demon lover. She recognized all of them and they absolutely hate her. They loved picking on her because no one would stand up for her except for Master Blipp. _Where's Master Blipp when I need him?_

Aygul began to climb down silently then stopped as soon as she felt a chill go up her spine. She slowly turned her head to look into the face of Takk, one of the ghost necros and boy, did he love to pick on her. "Well, look at what I found" he said gaining the attention of the others. They turned to look at what he found and grinned evilly as they saw Aygul with her back turned to them.

"Well, if it isn't the little mouse" remarked Damonei, the demon lover obviously. He looked around as if searching for something then placed his attention back on her. "Looks like your advisor isn't here to save you now, is he?" His grin grew wider as he stalked towards her; she still had her back towards them.

She turned around to look at them as soon as she felt that deep feeling of shadow within her. She always had that source of power bubble up when she was in dangerous situations like this and it would always help her. So right now, she was not going to question it, just go with the flow.

Her eyes went from snowy white to a grey storm as the shadow within began to settle in. Soon, she disappeared from view and made her way to the waterfall trail.

"Hey, where'd she go?" one of them shocked as they began to look around for her.

While they were busy looking for her, she was busy making her way back to Rata Sum. _Why don't those jerks just leave me alone? _Soon, she made it and headed to the Statics corner of Rata Sum.

She went to her instructor, not even having to say anything, Mrs. Jekka continued on her lesson while she prepared Ayguls studies. After five minutes of gathering her things she placed them within her hands. Aygul nearly toppled over due to the excessive weight of the books and logs. _Thank you. _Mrs. Jekka nodded as if she heard her and continued back with her lessons.

Aygul surprisingly maintained her balance all the way to Master Blipp's chambers. As soon as she opened the door, the most beautiful thing she has ever seen nearly made her drop her books. Master Blipp came rushing in to find her struggling with the books so he helped her by retrieving some and placing them on the desk. Aygul turned back around to look at the winter dress that she has wanted to wear to the Winter Ball tomorrow.

Master Blipp watched all kinds of emotions cross her face within seconds then he saw a tear slide down her cheek. "My heart, why are you crying?" he asked as he pulled her into a tight hug.

Sniffles were heard as she tried so hard to contain her tears. She tried many times to get a job within her statics field but they wouldn't accept her. All she wanted to do was save up enough silver to get such a gorgeous dress to wear not only to the Winter Ball but to cold climates when she would leave for her travels soon. And here it lay, on her bed with white earmuffs to match. She looked up at her adopted father and pointed at the dress then at herself.

He smiled and nodded, "yes, that dress is for you." He stroked her hair a little then kissed her forehead. "I knew you wanted this dress in specific so I went in person and bought it for you," he said smiling.

She couldn't believe it, he never left his chambers unless for a good reason, never for anyone. As if he read her thoughts, "I did it for YOU, Aygul. You are my student but the most important part of my life, you are my daughter." He hugged her tighter, careful not to squeeze the daylights out of her.

Aygul was so overcome with emotions, she didn't know what to say except, "thank you, father," her voice soft and a gentle whisper. Master Blipp smiled as that is the first time he has heard her speak.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It is the night of the Winter Ball and she couldn't wait to go. Though, all attention was going to be placed on her if she showed up… No one wanted a thief there but…

Aygul shook her head to clear it of the negatives and smiled. She is going to have a great time and nothing is going to ruin it because her adviser is going to be there with her incase anything happened.

She went to her closet to find her dress. It was there…waiting to be worn. Soft white silk on the outside with soft furry material on the inside to keep her warm but not too warm for fear of sweating in the dress. Her white poofy earmuffs lay on the bed along with a white hooded cape to keep her dress hidden till she went into Divinity's Reach.

Sora was going to be there but he rejected her as soon as he found out she had become a thief. He would constantly sneer at her and quickly turn his back on her. She found out last week that he was taking Rajja to the Winter Ball, which was a blow to the heart. Aygul really liked him but it went to show that people change for stupid reasons and she was not going to be one of them. She is a thief through and through, no one will tell her different. Then she wondered, _Is John going to be there?_

Soon, she began to get ready. She towel dried her hair then started to comb it since she couldn't really do anything with it. She looked at herself in the mirror and just stared at the person staring back at her. _Why do I have to look out of place? _The white hair, pale eyes and very dark skin that made her blend in with the darkness while at the same time set her apart from everyone else.

She shrugged off all negative thoughts and began to slip into her white, winter dress. Soon, as she slipped the beautiful dress on, she grabbed her hooded cape and draped it over her shoulders, covering her full body except for her head which she placed her earmuffs on.

Aygul gazed into the mirror to find herself to be beautiful. Her snowy hair framed her small face perfectly. The slight highlight of a cloudy color accented her pale hues and slight blush to her cheeks made her a little more noticeable. _Will John notice me? _

After going through two Asura Gates, she finally made it to Divinity's Reach. She kept her hood up as she looked around and stood in awe of the surrounding area. Everything was beautifully decorated; Christmas streamers here and Christmas trees almost everywhere! Her white hues were wide as she took in the scene around her, _Everything is absolutely beautiful! _She smiled wide as she just watched it all till her gaze fell on a group of six people heading to a blue portal.

Soon, she was in the center of Divinity's Reach. Aygul took in her surroundings and saw that everything, like the outside, is festive. _Of course it's festive; it's Christmas Eve after all. _She took it all in as she watched the large ball room become full with many people of every race; charr, asura, sylvari, human and norn. She had to be careful around the norns since they wouldn't be able to see her, she might end up under the boot of one of them. She shivered at the thought then went back to watching the others mingle.

An hour into the festival, she continued to watch then turned away with a sad look when she spotted Sora and Rajja dancing together.

"Well, hello there gorgeous" a familiar voice spoke up behind her, making her jump and pulling her daggers out. When she saw it was John, she breathed a sigh of relief and placed them back, well hidden as if they weren't even there. John chuckled, "Always on her toes, nice Aygul." She blushed then turned back to the dance floor, watching and wanting to do the same but didn't have anyone to dance with.

John noticed this and smiled. He knelt down on one knee and asked, "May I have this dance?" Aygul looked up at him and smiled, she nodded as she reached up. John picked her up and stood with her against his chest. Her small hand on his shoulder while the other in his right hand. He carried her and they began to dance to a soft tune that began to play.

She was smiling while she ignored the odd looks from her fellow asuras. Right now she was enjoying herself as she closed her eyes. Her nose twitched as she picked up the scent of chocolate. She looked up at him and brought her hand up to receive the candy. John chuckled, "Nothing escapes that nose of yours huh?" She shook her head, smiling as she saw him pull out two pieces and place them in her small hand. She popped one into her mouth and closed her eyes, savoring the flavor.

"Thank you, Giavonei" she said softly. John chuckled, "Just call me John." He smiled his charming smile while they danced.

"You look nice, John" the compliment a soft whisper. She looked up at him; medium length hair in a low ponytail while some his hair strayed in the front, close shaved beard and mustache while his brown eyes gleamed with happiness.

"Thank you, Aygul. You look beautiful tonight" he said softly as he watched her blush hard. She buried her face into his chest to keep him from seeing it but it was too late, he already saw.

An hour passed and soon a romantic theater began. Aygul took the seat next to John to watch it. She continued to sit there to watch the maiden and Prince on stage dance to their hearts content. Though, as the play continued it began to snow! Aygul looked out the windows to see the snow come down in beautiful shining sheets. She got down from her chair and headed towards the doors.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Aygul smiled over at John, a playful glint in her eye. He wasn't looking so she bent slightly and scooped up some snow, packing it into a ball.

The Winter Ball guests came out to see the snow falling. The Charr were in awe; yes they have seen snow before on their travels but not when it fell. The snow, a white blanket over the land, caressing it in a soft whisper.

John turned just in time to duck an incoming snowball. The snowball plopped into a male white tiger charr's face. A growl emanated from the male as he bent down and packed his own snowball. Soon, children came out of their warm homes, thankfully wearing warm clothing. A boy in a green beanie came running in the middle grinning from ear to ear. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!" And so the battle of snow began.

A few hours into the winter battle, a woman's scream was heard in the ball room. Aygul was the first to respond as the others dropped everything to tail after her. She came to a complete stop when she saw her master on the ground unmoving. _Master? _She rushed over to him and checked for any sign of life. She bent down to listen to his heart, 'thump, thump, thump.' She breathed a sigh of relief but that was short lived as something glinted from the corner of her eye. She took the offending object and examined it. _Beetle and wasp poison in a dart… _She knew this poison as she was an expert at such things. She always experimented with the stuff but never with this though she knew the effects when already in the body. The poison would seek one organ at a time and weaken it till it would reach the heart last as if it had a mind of its own which is true, a scary truth indeed. Another scary truth, it is a slow poison and it would cause as much pain as it could to the victim.

She laid her master's head on her lap to make him as comfortable as possible though the wince of pain from her master indicated otherwise. She looked up to see Dwayna Priests and the medic crew of Rata Sum rush in.

Soon the Medic Crew has rushed Master Blipp to the medical station. Aygul was with them, her gaze never wavering from her adopted father as they hooked him to the monitor to keep a close eye on his heart. They turned a body scanner on to keep track of the poison in blood stream. _Please be ok father…please…_

Master Blipp lay on a bed like pad, covered and hooked to the heart monitor. Aygul sat there remembering the conversation she had with the two medics.

FLASHBACK: _**"From the look of that poison, it's very intelligent, purposely moving slow to weaken the patient and kill one organ at a time," explained female medic, Hepta as she wrote down the information. **_

_** Shekk nodded as he looked closely at the monitor, "and from the looks of it, he only has a month or possibly less time to live." **_

_** He turned to Aygul who sat there next to the only person she's got as family, her only family. The chief medic sighed, closing his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do…" his voice wavering down an octive as he knew what could help Master Blipp to be free of this situation.**_

_** Aygul looked up as soon as she caught the slight change in his voice. Her pale eyes on the chief medic, her gaze probing him for answers. She narrowed her eyes on him, making Shekk extremely uncomfortable. "I uh…" He scratched the back of his neck as he backed away a bit subconsciously. **_

_** Hepta spoke up, "There is one thing sir." Aygul kept her pupil-less white eyes on the male. He shifted his green eyes to his partner, "this I know but it's too dangerous even for us." **_

_** Aygul stood up slowly and fully. "Location. Now." She could not just sit here and do nothing while her master withered away into nothing. She had to do something to save her master also, her father. **_

_** The two medics looked at her stupidly. They honestly thought she was a mute since she never really said a word. Until now.**_

_** Aygul audibly growled as her temper started to flare since they just kept standing there. Her hands clenching and unclenching, "NOW!" That slapped them out of their stupor. "I-it's located within M-maelstrom's Core," stuttered Hepta as she tried to keep her distance from the small thief. **_

_** She thought for a moment as she watched her master's vitals. "Identify." The chief medic nodded, "the Golden Iris, it is surrounded by Destroyers, fire imps and other dangerous creatures. Even a dragon." He rubbed both temples of his head as he said, "you will never retrieve it, it's too dangerous. If by luck that you do, you will not make it out alive."**_

END FLASHBACK.

Aygul leaned over to her master and gave him a light hug so as not to disturb the monitor readings. _I will find that flower and bring it back to you. I vow this on my life and to you. _She stood up, her goal in mind and determination set in stone. She left the room after placing a light kiss to his clammy cheek. After softly closing the door behind her, she set off to their shared home and began to ready herself for the travel ahead.__


	7. Chapter 7

HI! Sorry the chapter is late, i have been busy with life and other things. I just hope i haven't lost any readers and the like. :) Well here's the chapter, the next one will be up as soon as i can finish it :)

Also, i do NOT own guild wars at all. Even though I wish i did but still, i do NOT own guild wars franchise. ^_^

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Chapter 7

After four days of traveling, Aygul has finally made it to Bloodtide Coast though her feet were aching but she was not going to complain. _I'll just endure it. _She may not be in Mount Maelstrom but she still counts it as a step closer to finding out who poisoned her master and who sold it.

She took a look at her surroundings, _everything is beautiful…_She was awed by the greenery of the long grass and the moss covered trees. Though it was beautiful it also lacked the nice weather, but then again she is in the swampiest part of Kryta. The humidity wasn't too unbearable, just enough to stick to her like a second skin. _At least it's not raining. _As if on cue, it began to rain. _Really?! _She sighed, _that's just great…_

She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath, _forget the weather, I have an important mission to do. _She brought up her wristband and pushed a button that detailed a computerized image of the world map. Aygul couldn't see anything as the rain kept splattering through the image. _Damn it… _She shut down the image and looked around for a tree that could somewhat block the rain so she can look at the map. Too her luck, she spotted a tree with enough balcony to keep most of the rain at bay. She rushed over to the little dry area and brought up the image again.

**Archen Forelam, Bloodtide Coast**

She looked up from her map and spotted a bridge nearby. _Does that bridge lead to Stormbluff? _She looked at her map and sure enough, that bridge did lead to Stormbluff Isle. She shut off the image and began to run there.

As Aygul ran towards the bridge, she hadn't noticed a large tail snaking out till the last minute. _What- _The green tail slammed down on her back with enough force that it knocked the wind right out of her as she face planted into the ground. The large creature circled around the groaning asura to come green-scaley-snout to face with her. From the looks of it, this River Drake was very hungry and Aygul only fit the Bite Size category for the overgrown amphibian. _Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me! _She kept chanting this mantra in her head while she felt her belt around for her daggers. Just as she was about to pull out her daggers, the drake struck out, mouth wide open to swallow her whole. _Great, barely making my journey and I get killed by a drake. How humiliating…_ She closed her eyes, waiting her end but it never came. _Huh?_ She popped open one eye then the other to see what she couldn't believe.

A man in crimson and black Armageddon armor was standing over the dead river drake, his great sword in the ground and his hand on its hilt. _John? _She continued to stay like that on all fours with her mouth agape. He went to her, knelt down in front of her and helped her to her feet. "Are you alright, snow eyes?" he asked concerned as he looked her over for any injuries. She didn't respond, just watching him look over her.

John stopped searching her for any injuries as there was only a scratch on her cheek from when she face planted the ground. He ran a thumb softly under the scratch; she winced slightly as it only stung. _Why do I feel sick to my stomach? But it feels like a good sick. _She felt her face get warm as John hasn't moved, his thumb still lingered on her cheek. _This is too confusing! _

John watched her shy away and pulls her hood down a little more to hide away from his pondering gaze. _Why, when I look in her eyes do I see a sad soul? _He knew she was on a mission to look for a cure for her master since news of Master Blipp's condition invaded Lion's Arch, where he happened to be stocking up on items. He took his helmet off, placed it on the ground next to him and smiled at her.

Aygul still didn't look at him as she kept her gaze on the ground. He placed a hand softly on her head and pulled her hood back gently so he could look into her pearly gaze, "I know what you are doing and I will go with you," he said leaving no room for arguing. He watched her intently then frowned after she shook her head, no.

"You cannot come with me, I will not risk lives. I am going on my own," she said as she had pulled out a silver dart with sleeping agents. The dart had only enough to knock out a person for a few minutes, 30 minutes minimum. She kept the dart hidden, "I am sorry."

John looked at her confused then something shinny glinted in her hand. His eyes widened as it registered, _a dart! _Before he could react to put his helmet on, the dart was already in his neck. He could already feel the toxin working in his bloodstream as he tried to stand but he couldn't, his mind and body weren't cooperating to get the task done.

Aygul stood two feet away, watching the toxins take over quickly. John couldn't stay awake, he felt himself drifting into darkness, sleep trying to claim him. She walked over and placed a hand on his cheek, "I am sorry but I cannot risk your life on this mission."

She stepped away as her ears twitched to the sound of footsteps. She turned around, daggers already in her hands and ready to defend both hers and John's lives. She saw a human woman in Lionguard uniform; tan leather, a hat the same color and gloves; only half her face and fingers were exposed to the weather. She wondered why the human was dressed such when the climate was too humid. She shrugged it off, _she must be used to the weather. _

The Lionguard saw the small Asura with daggers ready to slice into her if she got any closer. She immediately stopped in her tracks and raised her hands to show she was no threat. "Ho, travelers!" She shouted in greeting while she kept a steady gaze on Aygul. She still kept her hands in the air, holding her breath waiting what seemed forever for the little thief to put her daggers back in their proper place.

She exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. Yes, she was a scout and had the skills of a thief but the look in the small thief's eyes glowed deadly when the asura brought herself ready to kill the Lionguard if she posed any threat. "I am Lionscout Tunnira, what brings you both here?" she asked as she looked to the near unconscious guardian on the ground. "What happened to him?" she asked cautiously as she carefully took some steps to get to John.

Lionscout Tunnira knelt down on one knee and took his pulse. She sighed in relief, "still alive…"

Aygul snorted and crossed her arms, she felt insulted. "Of course he's still alive. What business do I have in killing my friend?" her voice hinted she was hurt but defensive as she watched the human.

Tunnira stood back up and looked at her, "I'm sorry, I just thought…well…I saw you pull out a dart with some sort of toxin and assumed-"

"You assumed wrong," Aygul retorted as she slightly huffed. Then she sighed, "please, I need someone to take him back to Lion's Arch where he's safer."

The Lionscout crossed her arms and looked sternly down at the small creature in front of her. "Wherever you're going, you will need all the help you can get." She didn't want the Asura to get hurt. Yes, she is quick on her feet, that she already saw but she isn't invincible.

Aygul shook her head and began to leave her friend at the hands of a Lionscout. "You won't always be alone! You will find companions on the way!" Tunnira shouted, encouraging her slightly, letting her know that wasn't always a good idea to be alone in this world.

_I wish I wasn't so alone. Yes, I do have my master but for how long? I'm scared of being alone, well more than I am now. I don't want to lose my father!_

Aygul stopped before she could reach the bridge but she wasn't even near it yet. She moved to a nearby tree and sat down. Her hood pulled down more to shield her from the rain.

_Why? Why can't anyone just leave me and my master alone. He's all I've got and yet, he's slowly dying. What if I can't make it back? Would it have been better that I just stayed there by his side? I'm out here and he's in Metrica hooked up to tubes by now and just…_

Soon, she couldn't take the sudden emotion that began to rack her body in slight tremors. Tears spilled out her eyes like waterfalls and her body shaking from the silent cries into the air. She buried her face into her knees and cried till she began to calm. Her eyes felt puffy and slightly swollen from the crying she did. Her face wet and slightly irritating. She felt a little better after that though. She stood up, straightened her back and shoulders. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes.

_I can do this. I will not fail you master. I will arrive as fast as I can. I promise._

Aygul sprinted towards the bridge and smiled when she saw it up ahead. The bridge was a dark brown closer to black due to the rain. She could see dozens of ripples in the river as she got closer. She felt like her day was going to be good so she could continue to travel today until dusk then she would have to find a place to stay or maybe camp. Soon, she felt the light drizzle of rain turn into a near blinding downpour! She looked up at the grey sky in dismay, _could it get any worse? _Wrong thing to ask as thunder clapped in the distance which nearly had her trip over her own feet. She sighed and shook her head, _sometimes I wonder if the elements are out to get me… _

Finally, she made it to the bridge and was about to cross it till a male Lionguard in somewhat the same armor as Tunnira wore only it looked slightly heavier. She really couldn't make much out about him as the rain blinded her vision. He was waving at her and she waved back thinking it was a greeting.

"Wait!" the Lionguard shouted as he tried to run after her when she began to cross the bridge.

Too late, she was already half way across the bridge and began to feel her balance slip. Didn't help that it was raining the bridge itself was humped over instead of flat like most bridges. She then began to slide down the other side of the bridge, the downpour only making it worse. _Oh no! _Her arms and one leg flailing after she tried to gain traction but to no avail.

"AHHHH!" This was going to hurt…

Aygul was painfully stopped at the end of the bridge when her feet touched ground. Though with her stupid luck right now, she face-planted into a mud puddle and groaned painfully when she realized that she hit a rock. _Ow…I hate nature right now… _

She turned over and reached a hand to her head then brought it away from the throbbing pain only to see blood on her hand. _I must have hit that big rock pretty hard… _Soon she could see her vision start to blur. She must have been bleeding profusely as well. She heard heavy foot falls nearby and getting closer.

"CAREFUL! THE BRIDGE IS SLIPPERY!" It was the Lionguard that knelt down next to her. _Now he tells me? _That was the only thing she thought as darkness consumed her and pulled her into a lulling slumber.

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Thanks for sticking around and having patience, i know it's just the beginning of Aygul's adventure and like most things, it will take time to increase into the action. Now, let's have some reviews ^_^ I hope i'm doing ok so far. I'm just excited that i got to finally post the chapter. Now as i have said, i will try to get chapter 8 posted sometime this week. TRY ^_^ Thanks and many reviews and helpful comments will be welcome.


	8. Chapter 8

Ok sorry I took so long in updating everyone, I've already had aygul try to beat the hell outta me to get this proof read and updated as soon as I got it.

Aygul: -_-

Kitten: yeah yeah…do the thingy already…

Aygul: (huffs) Kitten does not own the guild wars franchise only the characters that are owned by her will be at the end of the chapter. Please read and review, thank you.

Chapter 8

A day pass. Or was it hours? Hell! She didn't know, all she knew was the massive headache she currently had. Aygul, slowly sat up even though her cranium protested greatly from the movements. She groaned softly trying her best to ignore the pain as she reached up and rubbed her head only to find it bandaged. _Huh? Who- _Her nose distracted her to the sweet smell of apples. _Mmm….yum! _She looked down to see the bag on which her head rested on was, in fact, full of apples! She looked around to see that several other bags were also full of apples and other fruits. She gazed around to see that she was in a storage room; rum barrels, fruit bags, sugar bags, and much more.

The pain in her head began to ebb down slowly as she carefully made her way to a standing position, wincing in slight pain. Finally standing, she noticed a stair well. She tilted her head just a tick, _why is there a stairwell in a storage room?_ Before she could further think, headache forgotten, she turned to the sound of battle; charrs roaring, metal clanking and gun shots.

Aygul went to the doorless exit and poked her head out to see chaos erupting around her by the Inquest battling the Lionguard. The Inquest wore different armor that distinguished who they are; black armor with red trims. _What are they- _She couldn't complete the thought as her ears twitched to air going against metal. She ducked just in time to see sparks fly off a large sword that came into contact with solid stone.

She rolled to the side and stood in a defensive stance; daggers at the ready to strike. The Inquest is male and large; he wore very heavy armor, metallic black with blood red trims, tall asuran with dark grey skin. She looked into his eyes and nearly faltered in her defense as all she saw in that gaze was nothing but bloodlust in his cold green eyes, a grin to match. He brought up his sword and charged at her, sword raised to come down on his prey.

"Time to die!" The Inquest male shouted as he went after her.

Her eyes widened as the sword was quickly coming down to slice her down in the middle. She back flipped quickly to avoid the attack then rolled to the side to avoid the incoming attack once again. Her heart hammered in her chest, her blood rushing through her veins and adrenaline speeding through her small frame as she continued to avoid attack for attack from the irritated Inquest.

"Stand still!" he shouted as he swung his massive sword over head to decapitate her only to growl when she ducked the attack. His eyes narrowed and growled in frustration as she avoided the attack again.

_ I can't keep avoiding his attacks otherwise I'll get too tired to defend myself. I need to think of some- _She tripped over a bag of fruit and landed on her back. She looked up to hear the Inquest cackle as he raised his sword to land the killing blow. Fear gripped her heart as she could see her life ending upon that gleaming blade until she felt the shadows pull her to safety.

"What the- Where'd she go?" He searched around the storage, though he didn't bring his guard down. He knew now, he was dealing with a thief but how did she learn to disappear THAT fast? He couldn't dwell on this for too long because he had to keep his guard up.

Aygul remained behind a pile of fruit bags as she tried to think of what to do. She slowed her breathing as she heard something whisper in her ear. She turned to look but only saw solid wall. _What was that? _She shook her head and put her focus back on the Inquest.

He continued to look around for her not noticing that she was coming up behind him, daggers in hand and ready to strike. He turned in time for a dagger hilt to slam into his temple but his helmet protected him though the hit was enough to send him tumbling to the ground. He landed with a pronounced THUD as Aygul angled her dagger for another hit. He couldn't see her as his helmet was backwards and made things harder for him; he was so focused on getting his helmet to face the right direction that he didn't see the decent of her daggers.

He cried out in pain as he felt daggers sink into soft flesh and under his collar bone. "No!" It felt like a wasp's sting only worse because it stayed there just slightly twisting when he would move a fraction. "Stay still or you will sever your collar bone…" her voice a slight whisper but he heard her. "Leave me alone and I might let you live, Inquest filth" she said, her voice void of emotion. _Since when did I become so threatening? _

The Inquest kept himself still, he knew that she was not jesting about this. He could feel the dagger drag against his collar bone when he made a slight twitch. _Why isn't she going to kill me? _He felt his helmet being taken off then it was tossed to the side, he came face to face with pale eyes in black nothingness. It was like the shadows were shielding her face but exposing her eyes to strike fear, it worked. Her eyes gleamed with shadow like smoke dancing in them as she watched him. "Alright, I'll leave you alone just let me go."

Aygul watched him intently, her eyes unblinking as she searched for any truth but saw none. The minute she lets him go, she knew he would strike her back. That is the Inquest way or they would sometimes take hostages, she was not going to be a hostage. "I don't believe you," she raised her other dagger and struck him in the throat before he could scream for mercy. She let his body drop, watching blood spurt from his mouth and neck. She tilted her head to one side, she felt odd, out of place. _Is this how it feels after killing someone? _

She continued watching the blood spurt out of the dead Inquest's neck, forming a puddle of life around the corpse. Then it registered, _I just killed someone! _She quickly backed away, her eyes wide as she stared at the red puddle grow around the corpse.

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Yay! Finally got chapter 8 up! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting. Currently, I'm on chapter 13 for this story here though, writers block leaves a nasty mark...(rubs face)

Writers Block: (smirks)

Me: Ok well, Aygul is the only character i own so far in this chapter, others to come that belong to my friends that have given me permission to put them in this fanfiction. I hope I am doing okay so far, just need a little more advice as it's been a few months (sheepish grin) so uh..yeah! Enjoy waiting for further chapters! :)


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